Poison on tap

Two industrial units-Ratlam Alcohol and Jayant Vitamins-have been
discharging on an average 480,000 litres if organic and 100,000 litres
of inorganic effluent everyday into the nearby Kurel river.

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Sreekant Khandekar

December 16, 2015

ISSUE DATE: December 28, 2015

UPDATED: December 18, 2015 12:30 IST

In the headlong march towards 'progress', nations seldom pay attention to the concomitant evil of industrial pollution. India is certainly no exception. The district headquarters of Ratlam (population: 160,000) in north-west Madhya Pradesh provides a classic example of misplaced priorities. Two industrial units-Ratlam Alcohol and Jayant Vitamins-have been discharging on an average 480,000 litres if organic and 100,000 litres of inorganic effluent everyday into the nearby Kurel river. Years of litigation have failed to convince the industries-one of which, Ratlam Alcohol, is a state government undertaking-to remedy the situation.

The level of pollution is so high that even after filtration, according to a health inspector's report, for three to four months of the year, the water is unfit for human consumption.

A group of villagers went to see the collector and later went to the alcohol plant to complain about the pollution but to little visible effect. "Once, a long time ago, we used to get clear water in this stream. Today we don't and an open well, 200 yards away, provides us dirty coloured water," says Ram Narayan Bhuwanji, a villager.

by Sreekant Khandekar in Ratlam

May 15, 1982

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